Creativity

Developing new plot ideas gets easier with practice.

I started with one scene idea. It was an image in my mind when I woke one morning. Brainstorming converted that image into a plot. The plot came alive and converted itself into a series.

Once my imagination and creativity muscles got a little exercise, they took over. Story ideas pop up unexpectedly. Last week, for example, the weather was hot and humid. As I tossed and turned trying to sleep, my discomfort transformed into an opening scene for a new mystery story idea. Not all the ideas are keepers, and some are blended into other stories as scenes or sub-plots.

A year or so after I started writing, I bought a new bookshelf and recycled some old binders to keep my writing ideas organized. It helped, but I still jot ideas in notebooks scattered around my house and never quite seem to get them added to a binder.

The ideas pile up faster than the publications. So far, I’ve published two mysteries, one children’s book, and short contributions to several anthologies. If my entire idea collection was published, I’d need a larger bookshelf.

Evidence?

Sometimes I investigate an incident (crime) at home (scene of the crime) through the eyes of my police detective character (Scott McGregor).

Collecting evidence is part of a policeman’s job. Trash at the scene of a crime may have been discarded by the perpetrator. The trash is sent to the lab where fingerprints and trace evidence, such as hair and fibers, are collected and recorded.

Once the crime scene has been processed, the detective sifts through the evidence looking for leads. Sometimes the collected evidence doesn’t relate to the crime. Trash may have been discarded before or after the crime by persons other than the perpetrator. Some leads may be ‘red herrings,’ evidence that is misleading or distracting.

This discarded candy packaging was found in my locked office. Initially, it appeared to be damning evidence that I had violated my diet and ate the candy. Upon closer inspection, though, a white Border collie hair was discovered resting on the lower edge near the left corner. Is this a red herring, or evidence that the dog ate my candy?

Inspiration Strikes

No one wants to read about flat, cardboard characters. The antagonist in my current work-in-progress suffered from two-dimensionalism with only occasion bulges of 3D. I needed to round out the character.

Inspiration for character development came from an unexpected source. One of my secret vices is browsing the lost and found dog pictures on the local animal shelter website. I already have a dog, and I’m not getting another, but I enjoy looking.

One German shepherd-type dog was so skinny, his backbone and ribs showed through his skin. I decided he could be a lost dog the antagonist befriends. I might have the antagonist see the dog from a distance and wonder at first if the animal is a coyote.

Now the antagonist has ‘someone’ to care about. The dog makes a good listener and companion as the antagonist struggles with unexpected conflict.

Real Locations

In fiction, a good guideline is ‘don’t use a real business for something bad.’ Readers like to recognize the setting in a book, but a business isn’t likely to appreciate a notorious crime occurring in their establishment.

Should the author use fictitious settings or change the names to protect the innocent?

Whichever the author chooses, the reader wants to feel immersed in the story’s setting. If the story doesn’t occur in an area the author knows well, a research trip could help the setting come to life on the page.

I took such a trip to realistically describe the setting for my current work-in-progress. But I just realized my fictitious crime scene business is in the same location as an actual business offering the same services. I had come up with a story idea, searched for the ideal town, then used the town as inspiration for description.

Do I have a problem, and if so, how do I solve it? The easiest answer is to change the town’s name, but I intentionally set the story in this specific town. I could move the business, but the crime is linked to the specific location. Does the ‘fictitious use’ disclaimer on the publication page cover this situation?

Reader Expectation

Reader expectation is a powerful force. Effective story openings introduce main characters and the dilemmas they’ll be facing. Themes and settings are suggested. By the end of the story, the reader expects the characters and themes to be fleshed out, and the dilemmas to be resolved one way or another. The reader also expects a satisfying ending – happy or sad – with the loose ends tied up.

Expectations also apply to non-fiction genres, including craft books on writing. Several years ago, when I first began writing, I bought craft books I saw highly recommended online. One of the books I ordered sight unseen was Stephen King’s On Writing (2000, 2010 paperback). The book arrived, and I saw the subtitle: A Memoir of the Craft. On page seventeen, the first page of narrative after his three forewords, King states, “This is not an autobiography.” I stopped reading on page twenty-three. I had expected a craft book; instead, I had purchased a mildly interesting autobiography.

I signed up for a writing course that begins later this month. One of the pre-course homework assignments is to read Stephen King’s On Writing. I pulled it from the discard pile and knocked off the dust. This time I made it to page one hundred-three before tossing it on the ephemeral “Should Be Read” pile. At least I’d found a helpful editing example on pages fifty-six-to-fifty-seven. I’ll read the remaining one hundred-eighty-eight pages before the course starts. In those pages, I expect to find the jewels for which the book is so highly recommended.

* * *

On the other hand, if you want a craft book that shows examples of what not to do from an editor’s point of view, consider How Not to Write a Novel: 200 Classic Mistakes and How to Avoid Them – A Misstep-by-Misstep Guide by Howard Mittelmark and Sandra Newman (2008). I chuckled at the Introduction and belly-laughed through Part I. I’m looking forward to reading the rest of this helpful and highly entertaining book.

Defining Characters

Source: Geeden blog

How can an author create characters who are distinct individuals? The obvious answer is to know them. Many writers interview their characters, write their backstories, and get to know what events in their lives molded their current personalities.

When I ran across this Left Brain-Right Brain image, it helped me determine what characteristics might be grouped and represented in different individuals. (Both halves of the brain actually work together.) I made a chart of the characters in my current work-in-progress (WIP). Half of the characters jumped out as displaying more Right-Brain traits. Two showed more Left-Brain functions. And two presented with characteristics of Both.

I also considered Introvert vs Extrovert and filled in the chart with this characteristic. Knowing my characters’ occupations and how they react with others helped me determine which labels applied.

Then I analyzed the chart, and patterns emerged (Left-Brain behavior). I noticed my Right-Brain characters are Extroverts, and my Left-Brain characters are Introverts. One Both-Brain character is an Introvert, the other is an Extrovert. My WIP characters are four couples. Only one couple is mixed Introvert and Extrovert. The same couple is mixed Right and Left Brain. I wonder if these patterns exist in the general population or only in my imaginary book world?

Characters in Forever After: A Detective Scott McGregor Mystery

Happy Anniversaries!

Today I celebrate two anniversaries – four years since I began writing (Camp NaNoWriMo April 1, 2017) and two years since I began retirement (April 1, 2019).

What have I done since those milestones? Published books and traveled the world.

How will I celebrate? No telling, but I’ll call if I need to be bailed out of jail.